(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to earth working equipment and more particularly to rotary hoes which are rotating tools with tines extending radially from a hub.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Rotary hoes are old and well known agricultural implements which are commercially available on the market. They are often used to break the crust upon the soil which occurs after rain.
Quite often after a crop has been planted, a rain will occur. If the planted crop has not emerged and the crust formed is too tough for the crop to break through it is necessary to break the crust. Also, after the crop has emerged, it is often desirable to break the crust to kill small weeds which may have sprouted after the rain and also to cultivate the soil adjacent to the crop.
Trash and other debris tend to become speared upon the tines and cause the equipment to operate improperly.
The fields wherein this equipment is used is often irregular so there is a need to have the equipment float, i.e., follow the ground contour.
After a crop has emerged rotary hoes are often used to straddle the drill in connection with sweeps so as to prevent excessive dirt from being thrown by the sweep onto the growing crop. TIBBITTS, U.S. Pat. No. 1,880,584, shows such a use.
Before this application was filed, a search of the prior art in the United States Patent and Trademark Office was made. The following references, in addition to TIBBITTS, were discovered upon the search.
______________________________________ Cone 798,875 Knutson 1,490,514 Neu 1,639,307 Johnson 1,770,648 Garber et al 3,175,522 Whitesides 3,203,487 McClenny 3,398,707 Brown et al 4,055,126 ______________________________________
It will be noted that WHITESIDES shows a complex mounting for a rotary hole gang assembly which includes spring biasing the gang downward and also includes a horizontal bar aligned with the direction of draft to which some of the rotary hoes are clamped.